Getting in the Spirit
You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net
1 Strange. I was standing here talking about Brother David, I believe last night, and here he is appearing on the platform tonight. Well, that's mighty fine. Brother David, we're happy to have you here in Chicago. Nice to have you brethren behind me here tonight, to know... The support of prayer is mighty fine [unclear words]. Be in prayer for me. It's nice to be out again tonight here in the auditorium, so beautifully seated out with the people, and under expectations of seeing the working of the Holy Spirit to come among us again tonight.
We have certainly enjoyed every hour of this service, being here since last Sunday evening, or last Sunday afternoon, rather. We had such a wonderful, marvelous time, and the Holy Spirit has did great things in our midst. We have seen Him heal the sick, do miracles, and save the people, and fill them with the Holy Spirit, and just great things. What more could we ask of Him than that, than what we have seen Him do?
2 So glad to know that we're living in the last day. And as ministers of the gospel we have the privilege of speaking, I believe, to the elect of God in the last days. And what a privilege this is for we ministers to have---this privilege of sitting on earth here today and speaking to the last church age, the last church. I believe that truly, with all my heart, that we're speaking now to the last church age, that will finally wind up in the Laodicea church. And then we'll ... Jesus will come, and it'll all be over.
And I'll be glad when that happens. I feel like John of old: "Even so, come Lord Jesus." Said, "Even so." I've just about seen enough of it. I was going around, and it looked like instead of getting better, why, the world gets more wicked all the time. So I think, like John said, "Even so, come Lord Jesus." Then it'll all be over. And I'm...
Revelation 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
3 I see they still have this little book laying here of the printed vision. And every time I think of that my heart burns to just get further into the meeting---do something right away, because it won't be long till perhaps we won't have time to do anything. So we want to do it now while we can do it. May the Lord add his blessings tonight again.
Now tomorrow morning is the Businessmen's breakfast, I believe right here on the grounds. I believe it's already been announced that there'll be a businessmen's breakfast tomorrow, and I think the public is invited to this. As long as you come, why, we'll be very happy. And it falls my lot in the morning, if it be pleasing to God, to speak---one of the speakers, at least, at the breakfast. And I trust that the Lord will meet with all of us.
And if you've never been to one of these breakfasts, some of you businessmen here in the city, it would certainly do you good to come and hear what God has did for other businessmen.
4 Now, you may be a prosperous man, as far as your business is concerned, but... We're not trying to introduce something to you to make you a better ... or make your business better. We're trying to introduce something to you that'll make you better. That's Christ, see. Christ.
As I said the other night, the church long lost its program when it tried to compare with the world---with education, with frolic, and with the entertainment, and so forth. We'll never compare with them. The children of the night is smarter than the children of the day. They're wiser. Jesus said so. And we could never give them the entertainment and... And after all, the gospel is not a glare; it's a glow. It's a glow, soft and sweet. And...
There's just one thing we have that the world does not have, and cannot have, unless they become one of us: we have Jesus. That's it. We have Jesus.
Luke 16:8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
5 We're not as smart as they are. We're not as far as advanced in science. We know nothing about that. We're not trying to keep up with them and have a better education, or better schools, or so forth, and say our church has this school, and so forth. That's all right in that line, but we have Jesus. That's what we're trying to bring to the world, is Jesus Christ; and He's the Son of God, and He's our Saviour, and we know Him in the power of his resurrection. That's the real thing.
Now, some of us ... my ... for myself, I do not---maybe---not know his Book too well, but I know Him real well. Just all I have to know is know Him. Knowing his Book don't give you eternal life. But to know Him is life. To know Him, the person of the Book, is life.
6 Now, tomorrow night again, then, we expect, the Lord willing, to have another healing service. And then tomor ... or, Sunday afternoon closes this meeting. And then I go off, then, to ... up in Northern British Columbia---Dawson Creek and Grande Prairie and Fort St. John---through that part of the country up there for perhaps the rest of the summer. So be in prayer for us now, and we hope to see you at the breakfast in the morning and continuing on through the meeting.
Now ... and don't forget now, you strangers, all these brethren up here tonight, the reason they're sitting here is because they're ministers of this same gospel. And find where their churches is, and fill them up for them on Sunday morning, now, with a great rally. We just hope it leaves a real, real, good ... revivals moving through the city until Jesus comes.
7 Now little Joseph here, Boze, he's always told me that years ago... Out on Lakeshore Drive we sat one day, and he said in his broken English, "Brudder Branham, we ... have always had a feeling in my heart that I want to see Chicago shook. I want to see Chicago shook." Said, "Years ago I come from New York here to see Chicago shook."
The other morning, just before my interviews I had breakfast with Joseph, and (I've always loved him so much)... And so then, I said, "Brother Joseph, your great desire has been fulfilled, only I don't believe you understand it, see. When you talk about 'shake a city, shake a nation,' that doesn't mean this here atomic fodder running around out here. That means the church. The church is the one gets the shaking. Just ... not the ecclesiastical group, but the body of Christ. That's the one that shakes and gets back into the line again."
And they ... the Chicago group knows that to be ... that they've had a real shaking in the last few years, in these last six or seven years---how great men of God has come to this city and preached to the elect. And signs and wonders and miracles has took place till it's without an excuse. Absolutely. It's without an excuse. It's repent or perish, that's all.
8 Now you that keep account of, or take down texts, as we would call it, I've got a few scriptures and notes written here tonight on a little subject that I ought to get through within ... by eleven o'clock, a little later. And so... Last night I... [Everyone laughs.] Thank you. That's nice of you. Each night... Billy said, "I want to see, when you go to Chicago, if you can get through one night at nine thirty. I want to see if you can do it."
"Oh," I said, "that'll be easy. I'm only going to preach twenty minutes any night."
Every night he goes out, he says, "How much did you miss it tonight?"
I said, "Not over two hours, something like that." But I ... I don't know very much, but I just love to keep telling what I know so ... till it soaks in.
9 ' An old minister one time went to a church. I know this is no place for joking. I don't mean this in jokes, but just that I might change the way of thinking just for a moment. He went to a church, and the first night he preached was on "Repent!" The second night he preached was on "Repent!" Third, fourth, fifth, sixth night he preached on "Repent!" Well, that was all right.
So the elders of the church called him out, and said, "Doctor," said, "we appreciate your message on repenting, but for six nights straight you've preached the same message on repentance."
He said, "Oh, well, that's all right."
Said, "You don't have another message?"
Said, "Oh, yes. But let them all repent first. Then I'll preach on something else," you see. After they all repent, well, then he'll preach on something else. So that's pretty good philosophy, see. Repent till we get all repented. That would be good. I'm sure we'd be here a long time.
10 Over in II Kings, the third chapter, and I want to read the fifteenth verse:
But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.
And if I would want to pull from there a text that I might draw a context, I might take this subject here, "Getting in the Spirit."
It was quite a change had happened around in Palestine these days. One great thing had taken place. The great notable prophet had been translated, taken up into glory. And it was a great loss to the church when a great man like that is taken out.
2 Kings 3:15 But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.
11 But what a consolation it should have give the nation (which was the church then), to know that this man, being sent to them to represent God, had went home without even dying; that he'd been raptured and taken up.
Very beautiful type, Elijah was, of this day when... May be a little off the beaten line from some men who knows the Bible better than I, but I kind of believe that there'll be a message in the last days something like Elijah; and that Elijah church, like, will be ... not die, but be translated, taken up. Fire will take it up into glory. The Pentecostal fire will rapture it up.
12 However, God always makes a way for his church. When He's finished with one man, He has another one waiting. And God takes his man, but never his Spirit. He always has got somebody else He can put his Spirit on.
And it's strange, but through the Bible He never had two prophets---major prophets---in operation at the same time. Always had one prophet. Then when He got through with that one, He taken him away and put another one in his place.
13 That's what He had did. He'd just changed messengers, but the same Spirit---Elijah and Elisha.
How I wish I had time to enter it tonight, to notice that when God had called the old tired prophet off the field... He'd preached against Jezebel and her worldly crowd, and bawled out Ahabs and leaders and ministerial associations, and everything, till he was tired; and God was going to take him home. So He just brought him down to the river and...
Before He did, He wanted to anoint someone who'd take that same message. You see, that same message had to remain. So he went down and throwed his robe across Elisha. And Elisha, after he had the robe of Elijah on him... He must've took it back. He just throwed it across him. He must've took it back again, because it fell from his shoulders when he went up.
1 Kings 19:19 So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.
14 Now we find out that Elisha ... Elijah tried to discourage him. Said, "You wait here, because the Lord has called me up somewhere else." Then we find out he went to three stages: to Gilgal, and on up to the school of the prophets in Jericho, and then down to the river and crossed Jordan with him.
And if we notice, as we preached last Sunday on Abraham and his seed after him, we found out that he gave Abraham three junctions: through justification, called him in the twelfth chapter; fifteenth chapter, through the blood sacrifice, of sanctification; through the seventeenth chapter, to nurse his strength from his body ... the Holy Spirit into Abraham's body, to strengthen him for the oncoming son---as He's did the church.
So did He the seed of Abraham: justification through Luther, sanctification through Wesley, the baptism of the Spirit through the Pentecostal move, then the placing of the son, giving gifts into the church, then appearing in the form of... He was God in the flesh, manifesting Himself, knowing the secrets of the heart and what Sarah was doing in the tent behind Him.
Genesis 18:13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
2 Kings 2:1 And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2 Kings 2:7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
15 How those junctions ... and finding those churches coming right along in that same place; how He had to change the body of Sarah and Abraham next after that message, in order to receive the promised son. That's what He's done to this church, brought it through the same thing. Now the next thing is a change, in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, and going...
We'll have to have a changed body. Now Sarah and Abraham in that kind of a body could not receive the promised son. They were a hundred years old. He had to change their body. Not turn them back so much as to young (which He did), but also changed them, because they'd've been like they was at the first place. But He changed their body in such a way that they could receive the son. Now we find the next thing in order for the church now is a changed body. Not us old people go back and be young so much, (but we will---and we'll be there young, just as certain), but we got to have a changed body in order to receive the Son, because we're going to meet Him in the air. Rapture come---changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.
1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1 Corinthians 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
16 Now we find out that God brought Elisha through the same process, three different stages. And then after he left the school, went down to the Jordan, and crossed over Jordan. Then he had ... a double portion of Elijah's spirit was upon him.
Now Jesus said, "These things that I do shall you also. More than this shall you do, for I go to the Father." Is a type of Christ and the church.
Christ was taken up, and the same Spirit was upon Christ came on his church. Now, where Christ could only be in one place ministering, now in his church He could be universal, ministering all around the world. Just think. Here we are in Chicago tonight, with Christ ministering, over in Philadelphia ministering (Christ), Africa, Japan, Asia, Europe, everywhere. People at this very minute around the world are being healed by the power of God. People are receiving the Holy Ghost, by the dozens, this very minute, see, around the world. A double portion, his Spirit poured out in the last days.
2 Kings 2:9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
2 Kings 2:10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
2 Kings 2:11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
2 Kings 2:12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
17 As soon as the school of theology, up on top of the mountain from Jericho, come back and seen Elijah ... Elisha cross over, and seen the miracle he did just exactly like Elijah did it, why, they said, "The spirit of Elisha ... Elijah rests on Elisha." And then, we find out then that the people knew that the Spirit of God was upon this prophet, so they consulted him, if he wouldn't perform some miracle for them, for something good.
He said, "We got a beautiful city here, sits on the hill. And the views are pretty, and it's a fine place for a school and so forth, as Elijah has built. But the water here is bitter." And they needed some new ... a spring.
2 Kings 2:15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
2 Kings 2:19 And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is nought, and the ground barren.
Matthew 9:17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
Mark 2:22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
Luke 5:37 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
18 And, of course, they were changed, and they had to have a new fountain opened up. And so you can't put new wine in old bottles. It'd burst them, you know. And I think today is the day also when we need a change of water.
We need a cruse of salt, a new cruse of salt in which there has never been anything in before. And God usually does that---rise up some little person out of somewhere that knows nothing, and throws a cruse of salt into some old ecclesiastical water. And the first thing you know, it's all become sweet again, another revival, the Holy Ghost a falling on everybody, going everywhere. That's what we need tonight. That's what we need again is another dash of salt (Don't you think so?) to sweeten up the water. Remember, he took a brand new cruse wherein had been nothing, and put salt in it. Now salt is a savor if it contacts, but it's got to contact first. It's got to make its contact.
2 Kings 2:20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
19 Now in the ... back in the political world there had been a great change also. There had been a man by the name of Ahab had died, and his son, Jehoram, reigned in his place. And he was just about like, oh, I guess, his father, Ahab. He'd straightened up a few things, but got bad in some more. So that's about the way it is, do... When we make up a new system, why, we take out a few things the old system didn't have, and put in something maybe worse. We just keep moving on like that. But that's the way it'd happened during this time. So...
A few nights ago I spoke on Jehoshaphat coming down to meet Ahab, and made an alliance with him. And he got in the wrong company.
2 Kings 3:1 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.
2 Kings 3:6 And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel.
2 Kings 3:7 And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses.
20 Now it's strange that... Jehoshaphat's still king, in the eighteenth year of his reign, when Jehoram taken over Ahab's place. Jehoshaphat came down ... or, Jehoram sent up to him because he got in trouble. And Jehoshaphat come right back again into the wrong company.
Isn't it strange that we do those things? They jump right out of the frying pan into the fire. You find that people will ... if... They'll come right out and start to serve God; and then the first thing you know, they'll go right back into the world again. The Bible says, "As the dog goes to its vomit, and a sow to the wallow..." And, as a dog ought to know, if the vomit made him sick enough to get it out the first time, it'll do the same thing the second time.
And if sin of the world will make a man realize that he's wrong once, to make him repent, it'll do it the second time. So why not keep away from the thing anyhow? If it made you sick and you got rid of it, stay away from it. Keep out of the very appearance of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
2 Peter 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
21 And we find out that that's the way that it goes though, and we just have it so... We've always had it, so I guess we'll just continue to have it.
But I'd imagine that Jehoshaphat thought, "Well, I'll go down and see. Maybe this new pastor, Jehoram, will be different, he'll be just a little different than what the old pastor was." But we find out ... he was a new pastor, all right, but he had the same old system. He'd just added some new things to it, and had added in some new programs that maybe the old system didn't have.
That's what ... I think we have did a lot of it today, friends. We have. We Pentecostal people, that's a great deal of what we have did. We have taken the old system and we try to start a new revival. But the first thing you know, we turn around and do with the new revival ... just take the old system into it again. And that's what tears the thing up.
22 Now here not long ago they broke out a thing---when the revival started in the Pentecostal realms---called "the Latter Day Rain." Well, they moved out to different places, and they said, "We're not organized." And then come to find out they were organized tighter than the rest of them was. See, you got the old system back with the new pastor, and it just don't work, that's all. And it gets the whole thing into a confusion. Then you're all tore up.
So that's what happened here. Jehoshaphat went down to take a look at this new pastor, Jehoram, and thought maybe he'd look over his system and see what he had. But it was only a hook to get him hooked into trouble again. And then, with all the glamour and everything he had to offer him, we find out that he went ... they went seven days without consulting the Lord, without knowing for sure that God was in their midst.
23 Now, that's what's the trouble. We start on these things but never stop to find out whether really it's the Lord in our midst or not; or whether it's some kind of an emotion, or some kind of a work up, or some kind of a foolish system, or something. We ought to solve the thing out and see if it's of God or not.
I think that's where we make our mistakes. It's seven days the church has travelled. And we find out that in seven days' time, just taking it for granted that God was along... That's what we've done---just taken it for granted.
"Oh, well. We'll go join church. God's in it. There's no doubt at all."
24 Search out and find out whether God's in it or not!
Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe..." Signs, wonders, miracles. And when we see our churches cooling down and those things not happening, have to wait till you get some special evangelist into town or something, then beat a few tambourines and work up a little emotion---God isn't in that!
No, I tell you what we need today is a ... back to the old Bible again, back to the old fashioned Pentecostal teaching of the Bible, back to the Holy Ghost, back to the power of God, back to all night prayer meetings where they're hungering and thirsting for God. That's what we need tonight in our churches, in our ... to bring that into our systems.
Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
25 They found out, then, that seven days' journey finally brought them to a desert. And we found out the same thing. We've had seven church ages. We're living now in the seven church ages. What have we done when broke out a revival? We fixed up a system and made us a little group over here that "We believe this," and "We won't have nothing to do with this group." And this group fixed them up a little group. They won't have nothing to do with this group here. And they just start fussing, stewing, back and forth. And now we find out, in the midst of all of it, that we've gone about seven days and not having God in our midst. That's right.
2 Kings 3:9 So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them.
26 Now the prophet said there would be a day that would not be called day or night. It would be kind of a gloomy, dismal day. We've had that kind of a day. We've had a day, for the last two thousand years, where we've had meetings, and accept Jesus as God's Son, as our Saviour, and we've seen God do great things among us. But yet, it's been a long time since the Pentecostal light.
Two thousand years we've made organizations, built big schools, and had systems. And find out ... here in the seventh church age we find out we've missed something. There's something wrong. We find out we got into a desert, and all the fruits is dried up. That's what the Pentecostal church has did today, is organize itself so tight till it's against one another, until we've found out that all the fruits is dried up. We don't have no more love, peace, joy, longsuffering, fellowship that we ought to have, like they had at the beginning. The fruits have all dried up in the deserts---
Joel 2:2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
Zechariah 14:6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
Zechariah 14:7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
27 seven days going without finding the real living God.
We've run off on little isms. God gave Luther justification. He run off with it. He gave Wesley sanctification. He run off with it. He let the Pentecostal people speak in tongues, and they run off with it.
God wants to call us together in a unity of power to bring back the fullness of the Holy Ghost into the church again, with all the spiritual gifts in operation in every local body. Yes. Seven days without God led them into a desert. It's the same thing now. His fruits dried up. I imagine that, as that ... as they moved out over the hill from the green valleys and things, they began to see the places kind of drying up.
28 You know, everybody wants a hilltop experience, and they never want to take the valley. Everybody---the Pentecostal church, too. Every night, if you're not shouting, dancing, jumping up and down, speaking in tongues, running around over the floor, something or another, you didn't have any kind of a meeting. Well, you know it's all right to be on the mountain top. That's good. But let me tell you, your fruits will freeze up there at night. And when the cold spell comes, you'll lose all your fruit.
That's what's happened now. We've put too much on mountain top experiences of dancing and shaking and jumping around; instead of all night prayer meetings down in the valley of decision, where you have to come down there and meet God, and really pour out your life until something takes place. We have let the ... we've growed fruits up there, but the freeze kills it. That's right. Every time there comes a little cool spell, you've got nothing to rest upon. When the emotion dies down, then the shout's all gone, the noise has ceased---then where're you at? The temptation comes along, then you can't take it.
29 What we need is get down to that grinding place down there in that valley. Dig out. That's exactly right. That's where the church needs to be tonight. Oh, I can imagine they was noticing the green life beginning to... You say green? Yes. We might be green, but we got life anyhow.
Everybody say, "Well that bunch of Pentecostal preachers, some of them..."
I was at a school not long ago, and my son told some students, he said, "Well, I'm from the Southwestern Bible School myself."
Said, "If you can read and write, you're better off than that bunch over there." Oh, my! Said, "Well, they're the greenest bunch I ever seen."
Oh, brother! We might be green, but we're flexible. Anything that isn't green ... you pull it a little bit and you'll break it.
30 That's what's the matter today with too many people's experiences. Too dry and stiff. We need something flexible, so if the wind comes down it can blow it, and rush it around, and pull it around, make it grow, get life into it.
I'd rather be a little green, and be flexible to the Holy Spirit so I could give to it; instead of standing, making a mournful noise like a funeral service, when it's going across me, saying, "Days of miracles is past. No such a thing as divine healing." That's a funeral service.
Oh, them young trees, though, when they're flexible and can give to the Spirit, and the Spirit begins to move them, like a rushing wind, filling them full of God's goodness---oh, that's the kind of a life. It may be a green bunch, but yet it's a bunch that's got life in it. That's good. And if anything hasn't got life in it, it's dead. That's scientifically known. That's dead.
31 Seven days. And remember, it was on that seventh day that they recognized what they had done. And I think we've come down through Luther, Wesley, and Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, and on down like that, and now it's in this last age that we've just recognized what we've done. I believe it's this time now that the Pentecostal church has recognized what it's done. The real Spirit-filled leaders, the real Spirit-filled Christians of the Pentecostal move, they recognize that something's happened. They've cooled off, because everybody trying to live on the mountain top, gone off without God.
What we need today is get back to God, get back to the experience, get back. It was in the seventh hour that they recognized that they were out there without fruit. No love, fussing with one another: "You're Oneness," and, "You're Threeness," and, "You belong to the Assemblies," and "You're Church of God," and "You're this, that, or the other. We won't have nothing to do with you." Calling one another one bad name, and one the other, bad name.
32 And the world turns around, looks, says, "What's the matter with them people? Both of them speaking in tongues in this church, and prophesying, and going on. This one over here at this church... They don't even respect one another. They haven't got any decency for each other."
Oh, what we need today is back to the fruit of the Spirit---love, joy, peace, faith, longsuffering. God can send a gift among them, and they'll call it telepathy, they'll call it the devil, they'll call it something else. If one church is sponsoring it, and the other one pick it up, it's all right now; because this one had something to do with it, it's no good. Oh, my! My, what a pitiful condition. Yes, sir.
We realize that the fruit of faith, the fruit of love, joy, peace, faith, longsuffering, goodness, meekness, gentleness, patience... Patience? Why they can't bear a few (seven) days of one another hardly, seven hours ... sometimes not even seven minutes. They'll jump up and run out of the church if you say something that's not just exactly what their little pet theory is. They got to get up and run out of church over it. Oh, they can't sit still a minute. They got to get out of there. "Aw, that ain't what Pastor So-and-so says. Hallelujah! I don't have to listen to no such stuff." Get out. Oh, you miserable...
All right. There you are. Go ahead.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Galatians 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
33 But that's it, you see. They've lost all the fruit. We realize that. The fruit of the Spirit is dry, all topped off, and laying withered away, powdered, ready to blow away. It's such a condition. We realize now that our great organizations... They're all right, the organization, as long as it keeps God in it; as long as it has the fruit of the Spirit in it; as long as it's loving and kind, and willing to fellowship and help the next brother.
No matter how ... what he believes, if he's a brother and God give him the Holy Ghost... God gives those the Holy Ghost who obeys Him. That's right. So, if you've got the Holy Ghost, the Methodist's got the Holy Ghost, and the Baptist has got the Holy Ghost, and the Presbyterian's got the Holy Ghost, the Oneness has got the Holy Ghost, the Church of God has got the Holy Ghost, well, what are you fussing about? Let's get together. Let's move on. That's what we need. See, it isn't the organization; it's the system in that organization that pulls away. That's the devil that does that.
34 So we find out that all of our trying to ... big buildings, and big building programs, and so forth... I imagine these fellows climbed up over this mountain, these kings and so forth, going up. They noticed, in their big, high, mounting up building programs, they began to see the fruit begin to grow smaller and smaller. And after awhile there wasn't any fruit at all.
And I know we've did that, and we've seen that in our time as we have moved along through this Pentecostal age. When we were back yonder on the corner about forty years ago, no place to go, and had a little hole in the wall somewhere---and a bunch of people laughing, calling them holy roller---why, they were more spiritual then than they are now. That's right. The church was in better shape---every one of the organizations---then than it is now, spiritually speaking.
Oh, sure. We own millions of dollars worth of property. Well, that don't mean nothing to God. I'd rather not have one bit of clothes (like John, have a sheepskin wrapped around me), and know Jesus Christ and know that my heart is pure and clean before Him (why, certainly), than have all the riches of the world.
35 But the thing is, the church has went off without God. They've went off without ... and they found out the fruit of the Spirit has left the church.
Longsuffering? Some of them with enough temper, why, would fight a buzz saw, and then ... and talk about the Holy Ghost, see. Why, the fruit of the Spirit is love and joy, longsuffering... Suffer, yes, but about two minutes, that's all, and away they've gone. So, longsuffering ... fruits all dried up.
Our big building programs has mounted up. That's right. Our great high educational programs has mounted up. Our pastors are better educated. Oh, my, my! We just got all kinds of degrees. And it goes a whole lot of degrees in freezing, too, when we get up there, about that time. About forty below zero it seems to get. Oh, sir.
36 But we got all of that. That's right. As we see, we're mounting up higher, but all the fruit and things is leaving. All the waters of life seems to be drying up. No more eternal life. It's almost like... As I said the other night, pastors are so busy, and people are so busy, swapping members. It's like taking a corpse from one morgue to another---just one place to another. That's right. Some of them's frying; and the other's freezing. So that's just about the way it is.
And I said, get in little isms, which after awhile becomes wasms, and there we go, you see. And that's where the church has got, till the fruits of the Spirit's all drying up everywhere. We see it everywhere. You know that's the truth. We just might as well come out and say it's the truth, because it is.
37 And we find out that they were dying out there in the desert. What a horrible condition where that led them to---their going off without God. Oh, they fetched the seven-day-compass. Oh, sure, they got through all right. They can point back and say, "We're the So-and-so, and the So-and-so." That's true enough, but where's God? That's it. Where's God in the thing?
We got bigger churches, and big spires up on top of them, big crosses, and plush pews. And we can compare with any of them, we Pentecostal people can---money flowing till who would, and the best dressed crowds, and brother, Cadillacs sitting around everywhere. But where's God?! Where is God?!
Then when He comes into the midst of it many of them say, "Aw, don't listen to that now. That's nonsense. Don't pay no attention to that." See, just dead stumps, that's all there is to it. That's right. Fruits dried up and gone a long time ago. Oh, what a terrible hour we're living in.
38 And when this time come, the first thing you know, they run out of water. They didn't have any water. And they begin to cry, "Alas, alas! O God, You've been so good to us [to give us these big buildings]." But many of them begin to cry, "Where is the waters of life?" You see communism moving in, see the world just about to its end, and prophets prophesying the end is at hand, and so forth; then we wonder, "Where's the water at? What's happened?"
And there happened to be one cried ... or, a righteous one cried out, "Isn't there a prophet somewhere that we could visit? Isn't there somewhere a prophet?" The righteous Jehoshaphat cried out, "Isn't there a prophet? We're in a crisis condition. Isn't there someone somewhere that we could consult about this?"
2 Kings 3:11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.
39 Now, if our organizations has got us into the place we are because we've separated ourself from one another, seemingly not having the faith, then there's got to be something somewhere. Now the righteous are crying out, "Where is that man of God? Where is that person can tell us?"
He's here tonight in the person of the Holy Ghost. He's the one that can tell you what to do. He's the one that can prick your hearts. He's the one that can unfold your sins. He's the one can take the doubt out of you, and the hope so, and make a know so in you. He's the one that can do it, that person of God called the Holy Ghost. He's the one that's present.
40 Now we find out that they all began to cry out. And seeing that the fruits was all gone (they'd withered away), and they was without water, and the righteous man---of course, the elected one---said, "Isn't there somewhere a prophet that we could consult? Isn't there somebody that we could get ahold of that knows how to get us out of this situation---somebody that don't belong to our mix-up here? We've all come in here, made an alliance, and we got together up here on top of the hill. We're going to battle and you find out we haven't got nothing to fight with."
That's what's the matter with the church today. We got a lot of members, all dead. We got a lot of great big organizations, dead. We got a lot of enthusiasm, but it's in the wrong way: Who can dress the best? And who can get the most ahead? Who's got the best school, can win the most ball teams, or play the best bunco, or something like that? We want God; none of those things. Come back to God again!
2 Kings 3:11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.
41 "Where's it at? Isn't there a prophet somewhere that can tell us what to do? Isn't there somebody we could consult?" Oh, what a condition!
That was the cry of the righteous man. There was only one of them among them. That was Jehoshaphat. He was a good man, but he got in the wrong company. That's what's the matter tonight. So many good men, a lot of good men, out in all them organizations out there, all down everywhere, fine men.
But we're facing a fact. We're facing something that where Mohammedism, and Buddhism, and other isms can put out as much psychology as the Christian church can put out. Right. What we need is not a psychology move, not a theology move. But we need a Holy Spirit move into the church, till the people cry out, "Where is that God that once lived?
Where is that God of Pentecost? Where is that God that takes the sinner's heart and washes it white as snow, who takes a prostitute from the street and makes a lady out of it, takes a drunkard out of the barroom out here and make a preacher of him? Where is that God that can move out and take them crippled legs and straighten them out, make those blind eyes to see, them deaf ears to hear, make that cancer vanish away? Where is the God that did that one time? That's it.
42 We found out that there's something wrong.
The other night, as I was preaching on the subject of the news flash, greatest in history... Old John, his eyes got (prophet John) ... was kind of filmed over. He was like ... he had the spirit of Elijah, and Elijah had a breakdown when he was under the juniper tree. John had a breakdown in the prison. And he was a high-pitched prophet, them nerves on edge. Then his eagle eye filmed over. He said, "Go see if I've been wrong. Ask him if he's the one, or do we look for another."
Jesus never sent him any book, now, "Here's how to have patience while you're in jail," or so forth. What did He say? What did He tell him? He said, "Just stay and watch this afternoon's meeting. Then go show John the lame walk, the blind see, the..."
John had preached a gospel that a messiah was coming that would have a fan in his hand and would thoroughly purge the floor. Sure. Burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. But when He come, He was a little meek fellow, meek and lowly. Didn't meet up to what John thought it ought to be. But He said, "You go tell John I'm running right on schedule. It's all right. Everything's all right."
Matthew 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Matthew 11:3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
Matthew 11:4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
Matthew 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Luke 3:17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
Luke 7:19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
Luke 7:22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
43 That's the same thing it is tonight. The church, the people of the world has been looking for the Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterians, or some church to put out something to bring Christ back. He's right on time. The lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear. Glory! He's right on schedule. Amen. There's nothing wrong. He's moving right on. God still lives. He's still God.
44 And this righteous man cried out, "Oh, isn't there a prophet somewhere that we could consult?"
Now there was one good brother among them, and I can hear him say, "Yes. Yes, I know such a man. I know such a man."
I can just see him look around to Jehoram, and say, "Now, you're not going to believe him. I just know that right now. You're not going to believe this fellow, because your father didn't believe him. He certainly didn't. And your father had that school up there on the hill, with that bunch of prophets up there [or so-called], and they didn't believe him. Why, they said... And this man that I know, the spirit of his father is upon him. He does the same thing his father does. He did the same thing that Elijah done, and the spirit of Elijah rests upon Elisha. And I've been to his meetings and I know it's the truth."
Amen. God help us. That's what we want---meetings like that, where we see, the spirit of our Father, Jesus Christ, which was... Elijah was the type, see. The Spirit... "He that believeth in me, the works that I do shall he do also." Oh, brother! That's the one.
2 Kings 2:15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
2 Kings 3:11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.
John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
45 This good brother said, "I know where this man is. I've seen the spirit of Elijah upon him. He poured water on his hands. He lived with him. And I know that the spirit of Elijah does rest upon Elisha. I know. Jehoram," said, "you couldn't believe that. And all your school of prophets back there wouldn't believe it either---your theological seminary---because... I'll tell you for why. Here's the reason. When Elisha came back and told them that Elijah had been took up, and he had a double portion of it, why, they said, 'The man's lost his mind. Get a hunting party of about fifty, and find out where he... He never raised up. He's still out there somewhere.' And they..."
We've tried, our ecclesiastical systems... Oh, don't get angry with me, but let me tell you, these ecclesiastical systems has took more than two thousand years to try to find the lifted up Lord Jesus---through educational programs, through theology, through church organizations---and have failed to find Him. Amen. He doesn't come through man-made theology. He doesn't come through organization. He comes through a surrendered heart by the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
2 Kings 2:15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
2 Kings 2:16 And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.
2 Kings 3:11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.
46 Our man-made systems don't find Him.
Oh, they organized parties, and went out and hunted for him. Said, "Oh, no, the Spirit never lifted that man up. Now be sensible, men. You know we've all got our bachelor of art, and so forth, so we know better than a thing like that. A man that sat up here and eat cornbread with us, and so forth, why, we know that that man couldn't have been lifted up in a chariot of fire.
"The boy's got all worked up now. He's been across there, and he's come back with a lot of fanaticism. So we know better than that, so just sit the old fellow down. His bald head got too hot, you know, and so let's just fan him off a little bit. You all go over there, and find out what's taken place over there. Search. Send some party..."
Said, "Go on, but you'll not find him. Make fun of me. Call me idiot if you want to, but God has..."
You'll never find Him in your organizational systems. No, sir. He was lifted up, and He comes again in the form of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And you'll never educate people to it; they've got to be born into it. It's got to be the baptism of the Holy Spirit, nothing short. Not mentally work-up some emotional or ecclesiastical system or sign; but it's got to be the real genuine Holy Spirit that brings the fruit of the Spirit of love, joy, faith, long-suffering, goodness, meekness, patience. That's it. That's the thing. Yes.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Galatians 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
47 Sure, Jehoram couldn't do it. He wouldn't believe it. They couldn't believe it. The school said, "Now wait a minute here. Now, we know this fellow's kind of all het-up, so we'll let him sit around, and we'll get our groups together, and we'll go out and pick him up again. He's out there somewhere."
That's what we've tried to do for two thousand years. And Pentecostal people, you're doing the same thing, trying to pick Him up by organization. You'll never do it separating yourself from other brothers. You got to come back, and we got to be one.
I don't care if the man's wrong. If he's wrong, and sincere in his heart, and you're right in your belief and you're wrong in acting the way you're acting, I'd rather be in his place than be in yours. That's right. I'd rather be wrong in my doctrine, and right in my heart. God will respect it more.
So if a man is wrong, what of it? Help him. He needs help. Love him. If you can't love your enemies the same as you love those who love you, you're no better off than the publicans. Right. That's what the church has failed to get. I hope you get it tonight. I hope you see what I'm talking about.
48 It's back to love, redeeming love. All the other things are fine, but we got to come back to fellowship with one another.
And people said I fight organizations. I do not. I fight that system in there that's breaking up brotherhood. I've always done it, and I always will do it. Right. That thing that separates brotherhood.
Let us come together. Let's be brothers. If I could see every church in this city, every church in the world come like we was the other morning at that ministerial breakfast (and I seen the Oneness, Twoness, Threeness, and all hugging one another, their arms around one another), I'd say like Simeon of old, "Lord, let thy servant depart in peace for my eyes have seen thy salvation." That's right.
You can get it broke down to a little community, and then the first thing you know, the devil will get back in there, break it up again. And then you can... But all over you can't do it. It will be done someday. God will send a punishment to them, and they'll have to.
49 So Bishop Jehoram, he just would not believe that. He knew he couldn't believe it, because his father didn't believe it, didn't believe that Elijah was taken up. So how's he going to believe this?
Through vain theology they'd searched. "Now, we're a school of prophets. We got it all fixed up. We know just exactly what he ought to do. We know just how he ought to do. We know how he ought to behave himself. We know that the only thing you have to do is come in and say, 'I believe, and I'll shake hands,' and we'll sprinkle this way, or baptize this way, or back this way, or out that way, or ... [Oh, my!] and we got it." Now, that's just the way he does.
And you go ahead, and you baptize this way and baptize that way, and sprinkle this way and sprinkle that way, and take communion this way and that way, and you still find out you got no God. You got a form of a ritual. That's all. God is a spirit. They that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth. Amen. God send his prophets back to tear up the thing, and to bring out this truth that will show it. Vain theology. Oh, my!
John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
50 Now we find out that he said, "Yes, I know where this certain person is. We'll just go down and..." Well, of course, some of them might've wondered about it, but you notice here that Jehoshaphat---that true, elected servant of God---said, "The Spirit of God is upon him." Yes, sir.
He said, this fellow said, "I know where there is Elisha." Said, "He poured water on hands of Elijah, the Tishbite. He was ... the spirit of Elisha is upon ... of Elijah is upon Elisha. Now, I know that he's got the same spirit, so therefore..."
2 Kings 2:15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
2 Kings 3:11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.
2 Kings 3:12 And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
51 And as soon as that man of God heard that the spirit of Elijah was resting upon another man, and this man was doing the same thing that Elijah did, he knowed that was a real prophet. And he knowed if the real spirit of Elijah was upon another man, he'd do the same thing that the Elijah done.
And let me tell you, my brethren, let me tell you, my friends, when the spirit of Jesus Christ comes upon the church, the church'll do the same thing Jesus Christ did. It'll ... "The works that I do shall you also," and He proved it. He said they would. If they do not, well, then, there's something wrong somewhere. They just make God to lie, if they say they're a believer and these things doesn't take place. And He said let every man's word be a lie, and his be true.
John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Romans 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
52 So we find out he said, this man said, "The spirit of that real true prophet rests upon him."
And then as soon as this elected one, representing the elected church of today, God's elected for this last day... He said, "Then we'll go hear him, because the spirit of God is upon him. [Oh, I like that.] As long as we see them things that Elijah done is upon this man, we'll go hear him."
This good brother said, "Well, I've went out many a night and I've heard him, and I know this is the truth. So we'll just go over and call on him."
2 Kings 2:15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
53 So, when they come up before the prophet, oh, my! what a row he got into. This might kind of hurt his sanctification a little, but he really got all boiled up. He said to Jehoram, he said, "Why don't you go on over to your own prophets? [My!] Why don't you go to your mammy's prophet? Why don't you go over to your daddy's prophets? Go on over to your formals now, and join them if you want to. You're in trouble, why don't you go on over to them?"
"Oh, nay, nay," he said, "but the Lord's brought us out here." Said, "We're going to die. We're going to get killed."
You're not only going to die; they're already dead, and all the fruit's dried up, and all the Spirit gone out of the church. It's already just become a religious organization. Now, that's right. There's something wrong. If we can't get God back in the church somewhere, what are we going to do? Then we're all going to perish.
And when this prophet... After he got through bawling him out, he said, "If it wasn't that I respected the presence of Jehoshaphat [that elected man], I wouldn't even look at you."
2 Kings 3:13 And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
2 Kings 3:14 And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.
54 I think that's what God'd say tonight. If it wasn't... You people that's bound yourselves off with these different organizations, and fussing with one another, if it wasn't that God had respects for the people who did believe in Him, there never would have been an Oral Roberts, or anything, sent across the country. There'd never've been no signs and wonders. He wouldn't even look at us, if it wasn't... All of us are guilty. If it wasn't for the elected's sake, if it wasn't for the church's sake---the ones who really believe God---He wouldn't even look at us. That's right. But because there is a people that wants to believe, God's got a messenger for them. Amen. The Holy Ghost had been grieved away, and gone a long time ago.
55 This old prophet really got his righteous indignation stirred up and he bawled them out. He told them about all these alliances and organizations they were having. He said, "Nevertheless," said, "bring me a minstrel." Oh, he had to get his temper down a little, you know. He'd got all het up, and so he said, "Bring me a minstrel."
Now what about some of you Church of Christ people, so called, that don't believe in music in the church?
After he got all het up, he needed a little music to bring the Spirit on him. That's right. Yes, sir. And remember, God doesn't change. And if the good music brought the Spirit on the prophet then, it'll do the same thing today (that's exactly right), because God loves it. Sure. He said, "Bring me a minstrel."
Well, you say, "Yeah, I ain't the prophet." But maybe you can be part of the minstrel, you know. You can do something towards it, that's all. You got a testimony, or something you can do.
2 Kings 3:15 But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.
56 I can see them bring out the minstrel and play, "All things are possible, only believe," and get the Spirit back started again. "Only believe, only believe; all things are possible." Had to play a little bit before the Spirit come on the prophet.
Then when the prophet come on, he saw ... when the Spirit come on the prophet, rather, he saw a vision. Now, that's the way... See, he could not do it... The intellectual elected great bunch of the high ups, the kings and potentates on the intellectual, educational side, could not see the vision. That's right. They were blind. That's the reason, tonight, they want to call the vision of God a mental condition, a telepathy, a spirit of the devil, or some-thing. It's because they're so intellectual they know nothing about God. That's right.
It was the vision that told the truth. That was God's program. That was God's way, because the Spirit of the Lord was upon the prophet, and the word of the Lord come to the prophet. Yes, sir. And it come how? Through a vision. Yes, sir. It come through a vision, not through intellectual. It had failed, and the same it has done now.
2 Kings 3:15 But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.
57 And he looked, and he saw a vision. He thought, "Well, now, this is it, the spirit of the message." Now, what did he see?
Now, he didn't say, "Oh, Jehoram, you need another degree. And I'll tell you, Jehoshaphat, you've got in a little trouble. So you ought to go away and study awhile longer because, I tell you, you just don't know how to do these things. You don't know how to lead an army," or something.
It wasn't that. He didn't do that. He said, "I tell you what you ought to do. You ought to polish up your men. They're not wearing the right kind of uniforms. That's what it is. You ought to make all your clergy turn their collar around so they look like a clergyman, you see."
Oh, it'll be in Pentecost pretty soon. It'll soon be right in it. The Catholic church was the first Pentecostal church, remember. That's exactly right. Now you, some of you historians, deny that!
And give Pentecost another hundred and fifty years, it'll be farther away than the Pentecostal church is, at the rate it's going now. That's right. Oh, yes, the Catholic Church began at Pentecost. And they organized it, and got the big societies in there that wanted to make this and that, the Nicolaitane conquer the laity. And took the power away from the laity out there. And the Holy Ghost can't come out there; it has to all be on here. What one fellow says, that's all of it.
The Holy Ghost dwells in the whole body of Christ. [blank spot] ...
58 the Holy Spirit run the church. Why, they got the fruits all dried up, and you see where it's at now. Well, Pentecostal hit the same trail, right down the same way. So there it is.
Now we find out, when the Spirit come on, what was the vision the Spirit gave to the prophet? What did he say? He didn't say, "Now, take all your soldiers out, and school them over again, that when they go to get up on the mountain top, they'll know more about what to do. Teach them some more theology. They ought to polish up a little bit. They ought to carry a longer knife, or something like that. They ought to wear a different uniform." No. He didn't say that.
He said, "Get to digging. Get out here in this desert. Your people once before crossed this desert, and they wanted a theology on Mt. Sinai." God gave it to them---after grace had done give them a prophet and a pillar of fire and everything. But they wanted something they had to fuss about, so He let them stay out there in the wilderness till the old fighters all died out.
2 Kings 3:16 And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches.
59 He said, "They was out there one time, perishing in the same way that you are. Now there's channels out there. There's plenty of channels where that rock still lays in the wilderness yonder." But said, "You got to dig out a lot of stuff."
That's the vision tonight, brother. It ain't "Start a new organization." It's "Dig out what's in it." That's right. The first thing, that old rotten log of organization, throw it out of the channel. The channels of God's blessing is all stopped up tonight, organization logs laying in them.
Then another log's laying out there called "No such a thing as the Holy Spirit." If you dig down, strike that log, throw it out. "There's no such a thing as the baptism of the Holy Ghost. That's just for the disciples only." Dig it out. "The Holy Ghost is just for the apostles."
Dr. Simon Peter said on the day of Pentecost, "It's for you, and for your children, and them that's afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."
Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
60 Great, fine Pentecostal brother told me not long ago, said, "We don't need any more divine healing. I wouldn't even let it be practiced in my church." He said, "We got fine doctors and things today take the place of that." Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm! See what kind of an old log gets in there?
What does it do? It stops the flow of the water. Elisha's vision showed him that out there in that wilderness, right where the fruits was dried up... Don't start a new organization, another rain or something. Just clean out the channels where the first rain can flow. The water's there. Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And that smitten rock was in the wilderness, and it's still there tonight, thank God. Jesus cleaned it out for them again at Calvary, but they come right back around, throwed the logs back in again, blocked off all...
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
61 You know what it does to throw a log in a channel, what does it. Well, then, all kinds of dirt hits against this log, and washes up. And first thing you know, you got all the water backed up (like the beavers do, make a dam), and you got nothing'll go through it. That's right. We got too many beaver preachers today, trying to dam all the water up, and say, "This is ours. This is just us here. This belongs to us." And what happens to it? It becomes stagnated.
That's what's the matter with a lot of our organizations trying to back up the water for your organization only. It's got stagnated. You know stagnated water gets these little wiggletails in it. That's what's the matter with the church today: a little wiggle in here, wiggle out there, everything. Days of miracles is past, no such a thing as divine healing, can't sit still five minutes in a meeting. Oh, my goodness! Stagnated water, beaver dam. Blow it out! Amen.
There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Emmanuel's veins,
Where sinners plunged beneath the flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
62 Prophet said, "Get down there and dig all them logs out."
"Well, I tell you, then, prophet. Should we go back and have another mighty rushing wind?"
"No."
"Shall we start another latter rain?"
"Nope, nope. Just clean out the channel." That's all you have to do. We got the people, just clean out the channel. The people's all right. Get the channels cleaned out, so the Holy Spirit can come in. All your fanaticisms, and isms, and everything else that's in the church, clean the thing out. The rock's already smitten, the waters are fresh, running. But our ecclesiastical systems has dammed up the streams.
He said, "Clean those things out. You won't have to have another rushing wind. You won't hear neither wind, nor see any rain. But yet, there'll be water there." Oh, brother! Not a new system. Not a new system we need; what we need is clean out the system we got.
Not make another Assemblies of God, another Oneness; but just clean out the Oneness and Assemblies we got. Get all the logs out of it, all the differences, the fussing and stewing and things like that away from them, and the waters will go to flowing back again. There'll be love, joy---joy like a river just flowing all over everybody, just love with one another. "We are not divided, all one body we, one in hope and doctrine, one in charity." That's it, see.
63 That's the way we must do it. That's the idea. That's the vision of today.
That was the ... that was that prophet's vision. A true prophet's got the same vision today. Not a new organization start up something and make another group. You'd just fuss it out, and organize it, and get just like the rest of it. You'd throw logs in it also.
When I first started out in the ministry, many of them come to me and said, "Well, Brother Branham, you ought to start a little organization."
I said, "Organization? That's what I'm against!" I said, "What we need is not an organization, but clean up the thing we have got." That's right. Clean it up.
We need a revival, is what we need---a digging time. Dig, dig. The deeper you dig, the more water you're going to get. If you dig down, say, "Well, I'll just come out of the organization," look at the stuff you still got in there---malice, strife, everything else. Clean out the ditch till you go plumb down to solid rock. That's right. Get down to where the water can really come pouring out of Emmanuel's veins. Wait till you get down to that place there. There'll be water just pouring like fountains ... where I'm coming from.
64 Dig out all these ditches.
You say... Get down here in these valleys. You fellows been trying to live on the housetop up there all the time, up on the mountain, shouting and jumping, and freezing and frying, and everything else. Said, "Well then ..." Don't do that. Get down here, and dig out these ditches down low here, and get some fresh water. That's what we need. Get down here and get ahold of the water. What we need tonight is the water of God.
The vision absolutely interpreted God's will to that dying, perishing people. The vision tonight of the Lord ... to clean out this thing and start anew. Clean out. Not start a new organization; start a revival in the organization. Start a new meeting. Start ... let God come in. Dig out all your old fault finding, and backbiting, and stiff necks, and all these superstitions, and unbelief. Pull the thing out.
"Well, I tell you... But Brother Branham, it would mean this..."
I don't care what it means. You'll either dig or die. All you Chicago Methodists, get digging. Chicago Baptists, get digging or perish. Chicago Pentecostals, get digging or perish. Dig out the thing. Throw it out.
I tell you, thus saith the Lord, unless you dig out this corruption that's in there, you'll perish! and your fruit and church will dry up and die. Dig it out! You won't hear another latter rain, or another former rain, or whatever it is; but there'll be water and peace, like a river flowing through every heart. Yes, sir.
65 You'll see signs and wonders, and miracles and powers of God returning back into the church, in a real flowing Pentecost just coming down. Yes, sir.
Yes, sir, the Spirit's message was "Start digging, or start perishing." And they was already perishing, so they had to dig it out. Dig it out, get cleaned up. Deeper---the more you dig, the better off you'll be. The ecclesiastical systems has got all the channels all clogged up.
Pull them old logs out. "Days of miracles is past. We don't need divine healing today." Why, we need it more today than we ever have.
You say, "We got the best doctors. [That's right.] Got the best medicines. [Right.] Got the best hospitals. [Right.]" Got more sickness. Right, because we got more unbelief. Right. That's exactly it.
People just don't...
66 Now, you notice he said...
Now, the next morning what'd they do? I can imagine them Hebrews out there saying, "I heard the vision of the Lord. The prophet told the truth. I'm going to dig out this thing. [Hit an old log there.] What is this? 'Ten percent of my wages.' "
"Well, we've been having soup suppers to pay our preacher."
Dig that log out of there. Get it out of there. You owe God a tenth. Dig her out. Pull it out on one side.
Directly hit another old log. "What's that? 'Well, now, don't you get off on the deep end.'"
Pull that thing out, and throw it out. That's what's got you on the shallow end. Yes, sir. Throw the thing out. The more deeper you dig, the more water you'll find. Just keep digging in the storehouse of God, throwing the thing out till you get where you'll fill it up with real waters of life.
67 Then about daylight they happened to notice the waters came, and they didn't know where it come from. It was there all the time. They'd just clogged it up.
There's power in the church. I can tell you, and I'll tell any minister, I can show you where God gave the church power to heal the sick, cast out devils, and all these things to do. And now you come put your finger on the scripture where Jesus said, "Now I take it back away from the church now." Well, then, what's happened? What's the matter? You got it clogged up. Your own self made idea of it has clogged it up.
I can tell you where Jesus promised this last day, and show you that these signs that you see done, that the Spirit of God would come into the church, and show visions and so forth like that, as He's doing. And you try to disprove it one time, and find out where you're at.
68 The reason of the thing is, you're all clogged up with too much ecclesiastical systems in you. It's all clogged. Dig the thing out, and throw it away, and let the waters go to running.
About time it began to break day, oh, brother, the waters was flowing freely, coming from that smitten rock that still is out there in the wilderness. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Only thing you have to do is get all the old logs out of the way. Get all the old unbelief out of the way. Pick up that unbelief, and throw it away. Say, "Well, now, listen. Jesus promised it, and I don't care what anybody says, I believe it." That's it. Take the log and throw it out.
Say, "God promised it. I see it right here before me. I've always made fun of it. I thought it was wrong. But now I'm going to believe it, so I'm going to get this old log and throw it out." And as soon as you get that log out of the way, the sweet waters of the peace of God will go to flowing like a river, will flow through you.
69 Say, "Well, I always wondered if..." Healing---here's what I find people ... healing. When God come here and proved Hisself to be right here among you, you know what it is? You're reaching out ... you're trying to apply faith with a orchid. Faith was applied by weeds, hyssop.
Hyssop is just common weeds. You try to work up a faith. You can't work up a faith. Faith is so common. It's the same faith you go get a drink of water with, same faith you drive your automobile with. Just as common. Why, hyssop, you can find it growing on the ground, out of the cracks of the building, anywhere. And when they applied the blood with hyssop, was applying faith.
Exodus 12:22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
70 You apply faith with just common ... apply the blood with just common thing---like "weed" faith.
But you're trying to look all around, say, "If I could just find an orchid to apply my ... what I believe in Jesus. If I could just ever reach out and get ahold of an orchid." You don't need an orchid. Take the weeds that's right by you. Take the faith that you go home with, take the faith that brought you here. Apply that same thing tonight, and watch what'll take place. Oh, brother! There will never be a doubt in your mind, if it's really the blood applied with that kind of a faith. I don't care... You say, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I'm pulling all the old logs of ecclesiasticalism and everything out of my system right here now, and, Lord God, by just ordinary faith that I believe You to be my Saviour, You are my healer. Amen." Amen.
Believe that like that, and just feel peace like a river, the great gushes from that fountain that never runs dry. That fountain will just pour down, when you get all the old logs out.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
71 Just keep digging.
If you hit something in there that makes you... If you've done something wrong ... say, "I owe So-and-so some money." Well, go pay it. You say, "Well, I can't pay it." Go tell him about it then. That's right. Don't beat around the bush about it. Go tell him, see. And then... Tell him, say, "I'll make it right, brother. You just give me a little time. I'm fixing to straighten up right."
"Well, I tell you what. I made fun of them people called Pentecostals." Raise up, and say, "I'm sorry I done it." That's right say, "Lord, You know my heart. People, you forgive me." You'll feel that old log go out, some more water going to pour in. Oh, my! Just go to rolling in. The first thing you know...
Say, "I always thought them visions was of the devil, but I see now they're of God." All right, then that old log will go away. Then the waters will start pouring again. That's right. Just get everything out of the ditch. The water's there. You believe it?
The Bible said Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so He's still that smitten rock. He's still got the life, still got the water. He's got the healing power.
You say, "Brother Branham, will Jesus heal me?"
He's already got it. Just get the logs out of the way.
1 Corinthians 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
72 Get all the trash, and old buckets, and cisterns ... Get all that stuff out of the way. Old dead horses, and ecclesiastical things that's laying in your way, throw the thing out. God ain't going to come in on ... like that. It'd pollute the water. And the water ain't going to be polluted.
So, you just get your own pollution out, of unbelief, and God will pour the water in. It's already done. Only thing you have to do is just move the cause. The cure's already performed. God's already healed you. You just have to get your unbelief out of the way. That's the vision.
I say that in the name of the Lord, the same as Elisha said it that day, "Thus saith the Lord, get your unbelief out of the way," watch what'll take place. Get your systems out of the way. Watch what a revival will strike Chicago. Watch what a revival will strike the world, if we get our systems out of the way, get our own ideas out of the way, and let the Spirit... It's all ready. The rock's already smitten. The only thing we have to do, just get the things out of the way and let it flow.
You want to see people healed? You want to get healed yourself? Just get all the doubt out of the way, and then see what takes place. It'll flow like a river.
73 Then the next morning the enemy looked up, and he looked across there. And when he did... It was water, but to the enemy, the way the sun was shining on it, it looked like blood, and it scared him. That's right. And it got some little silly thought worked up in his mind, trapped him right into it.
What did the prophet say to them? Said, "Why, this is a little thing to the Lord. If you all just get all the logs out of the way, I'll take care of the rest of it." If you'll get all the unbelief out of the way, God'll take care of the rest of it.
2 Kings 3:18 And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand.
74 You know what happened? He said, "Each man pick you up a rock, and I'm going to give you the land. I'm going to let you possess it." And each man took a rock.
And when he got over there where them old formal wells was, he had a good "rock" testimony. Amen. "Praise God! God give me the Holy Ghost. I'm like Simon. I'm Peter now, a little stone." Amen. And everybody get his own rock in his hand---a real testimony, a real fiery testimony.
When Jesus come before Peter and said "Your name is Simon; and from henceforth you shall be called Peter," which is "little stone," brother, he picked that up. He knowed that was the Messiah. Away he went. And he stopped up formal wells with it.
2 Kings 3:25 And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.
John 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
75 And what we need tonight is get that same kind of a testimony that, oh, that Jesus Christ lives and He... It'll stop up all these old formal testimonies saying, "The days of miracles is past. There's no such a thing." Them old broken cisterns, anyhow, wiggletails in them, it'll stop them up.
You throw that rock of testimony out there, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever." Get in the Spirit! You've got to get in the Spirit. You go to a dance, and start dancing. They start clapping their hands, doing all that dancing. You stand over there, saying "Aw..." Wouldn't you be a dancer? Sure, yeah. You're sure in the spirit of it. Oh, they whoop it up, and dance, and scream and holler.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
76 That's the way you get a revival. It's when you really get in the spirit of revival. Not whooping it up or something, but praying it down, until there's a revival strikes your heart; until all the logs of ecclesiasticalism, and all the logs of fanaticism, and all the logs of systems, and all the logs of unbelief flows out. And then the waters of God come falling down upon you. There you are. Then you're a testimony then.
You won't be smoking cigarettes behind the house, and out here tonight jumping around in church and saying you got the Holy Ghost. You're a sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. People know that. When you get out here with all this kind of living, and women bobbing off their hair, and painting their lips, and say, "I'm Pentecostal," oh, you poor miserable...
1 Corinthians 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
77 Some of you preachers with deacons in your church with four or five different wives, and things like that, say, "I'm Pentecostal." The world's got better sense than that. They're smarter than that. Yes, sir. Oh, my! Get out here and bet on horse races, and everything else, and then call yourself... And a lot of you would stay home and listen to a television before going to a prayer meeting, and say, "I'm Pentecostal." You're just named Pentecostal. You haven't got the experience of Pentecost.
The church is the first thing in your heart, brother. That's all in all, is God, God. It's all you can see and know about is God.
That's the group of so-called Pentecostals that says, "Aw, now, that stuff's nonsense. Don't you believe that," see. But the vision of the Lord comes by the word of the Lord. Dig all that out. Dig all that unbelief out, so the waters of life can flow in freely, and will stop all this here saying the days of miracles is past (Let the church really get back),
78 saying the Pentecostal is nothing but just a bunch of make believe.
You get right down, and dig down till you strike the rock bottom. Let a Pentecostal experience happen to you, and watch what happens, brother. There's nobody can lay a finger on your life. Yes, sir, you're square as a ... gun-barrel. Straight, and you're a real gentleman. You're a real man of God. You're a real woman of God.
When you're sealed by the Holy Ghost, the seal's on both sides of the paper. They can see you coming, see you going. They'll know that you look like, act like, talk like, and associate like, and you are a Christian, when you're sealed by the Holy Ghost. God's ready to do it, if we're ready to let Him do it. Do you believe that?
79 Now, what's the next thing to do? "Is the next thing, preacher, for you to come lay hands on me?" That doesn't have nothing to do with it. That might make ... spur you up on a little something, but that ain't it. The thing to do, brother, is accept God's Word, and say, "It's the truth, and I believe it. And I've got the old chunks in here I'm throwing out right now---my unbelief. And I'm settling it with God. I'm going to believe." Believe for your salvation.
Now, I can't tell you about your salvation. You have to work that out yourself. But Christ still lives and reigns. He's here tonight. Do you believe that? What do you have to do? Get in the Spirit. And when you get in the Spirit, then you see the vision.
But as long as you say, "Well, bless God, I'm Methodist. I don't have to put up with such."
"I'm Baptist."
"I'm Assemblies."
"I'm Oneness."
All right, go ahead. You'll never see the vision.
But you throw that thing aside, and get into the vision. See Jesus coming, and the church perishing here, then get into the vision, and dig right down. Brother, I'm telling you, something will happen to you then. You'll get in the spirit of revival. Do you believe it?
80 Let's all get in the Spirit then and believe it. Let's bow our heads while we ask Him to give us the vision.
Heavenly Father, we're in a perishing land, we're in a perishing nation, we're in a perishing world, and preaching to perishing people. And I'm a ... I'm just a man, and these other preachers are just men. But you're a imperishable God.
I pray Thee, tonight, Lord, that this message that I have spoke, and my nervous six-months of going, and wound-up, I might not've said it just right, Lord. But if I didn't, You let the Holy Spirit just smooth it out. And take all the wrinkles out, God, just like You did to Abraham, and said... We know he had his flusterations, and he staggered. But when the divine commentary of his life was written, why, it said he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong, giving praise to God.
81 So Lord God, all my little staggerings, and misspelled words, and mispronounced, and so forth, let the Holy Spirit just smooth it out and put a real divine commentary in every heart of this message tonight, that we're living...
And there still remains a servant of God, there still remains people who love God, and there is a God who's interested in them. And there is a Saviour that was smitten two thousand years ago who was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquity, chastisement of our peace upon Him, and with his stripes we were healed, the same Saviour that said "The works that I do shall you also."
God, may every old chunk be moved and every old rusty bucket, and things, be moved out of the way tonight, and may the waters of life flow freely.
God, turn me inside out, and wash me, and make me clean, Lord. And fill me with your Spirit just now, and fill these people out here with faith---that if there would be one down here who does not believe, that they might see and believe, because we ask it in Jesus' name. And then, may everyone get in the Spirit and we be all filled with the Spirit, and all healed and saved tonight, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
82 There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Emmanuel's veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, (Let's
just raise your hands while...)
... all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
Let's bow our heads now.
83 Our Father God, we're dying now of all of our unbelief. Create in us a desire to dig now. We're digging, Father. Search me, and try me. See if there's any unbelief in me, Lord. If there is, help me to get it out of the way, right now. Help me to clean the channel out, so the power of God can flow through.
Help this audience just now, Lord. I pray for them. I pray that You'll let every channel be clean. Clean every church that's represented here, Lord, all of them. From one organization to another, clean all the unbelief out, Lord. Clean all the systems of the world out of it. May the sweet fellowship of the Holy Ghost come into the channels of God, flowing through here tonight, bringing fresh revelation ... Word of life may go out tonight into every soul here.
84 And I know You're here, Lord.
And they look to me as your seer, as your believer, for someone to make an example. And Father God, I pray that You'll help me tonight, that the Holy Spirit might have a free access into my soul, and my heart, my life, my eyes, my being. Not only to me, but to every person here, that the ones who does not believe might see the Spirit working through believers, and saying, "If that water can flow from that smitten rock through them, it can through me, too." Grant it, Father. I ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
And Father, I pray that You'll bless my brethren here behind me, these precious men. Some of them was preaching the gospel when I was a sinner boy. God, grant it tonight. Some of these men sitting here has been on the field a long time. They're warriors. They're scarred. Many times systems leads men sometimes to... But down in their heart, Lord, they want to see the move of God. Then we find out if the devil don't do one thing, he'll do another. And then he'll mess up something, or gaum up something, and it makes them kind of pull back a little bit. Father, may every heart be opened up tonight to the real fountain.
85 Now, God, I can speak. I'm just a man. I might make any kind of statement, might make it sound right---but still it wouldn't be You. Just a word from You will prove it, Lord.
You said, "If there be one among you who is a prophet, or spiritual, I, the Lord, will speak to him, show him visions, speak to him in dreams. If what he says comes to pass, then hear him. But if it don't come to pass, don't fear that man, because I'm not with him. But if it does, then you hear it."
Now, Father God, I proved that---or tonight by the scriptures, and every night---that You're Christ. You're the Son of God, and You were smitten to take away our sins and unbelief that your own life might flow through us. And I tell the people that You're sitting at the right hand of God tonight on high, up yonder on the throne, a high priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities. Grant, Lord, that there'll be many blood issues tonight stopped, because of the unbelief flowing out, for I ask it in Christ's name. Amen.
Numbers 12:6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
Deuteronomy 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
Jeremiah 28:9 The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.
Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
86 I don't believe we've had a prayer card since last Sunday afternoon. Best I remember, we haven't called a prayer line. But every night the Holy Spirit's went right out among the people. How many knows that to be true? Ten, fifteen, so forth, of a night, all out through there, people without your prayer cards. I feel kind of guilty not taking up some of them cards. And I know I'm just a little bit late, but I said last night (I was late again), I said, "Tomorrow night we'll try to give out some prayer cards." And Billy, I sent him over tonight, told him give out some prayer cards. So he give them out. He told me he give out B1 to 50 ... 1 to 100. B1 to 100. All right. It got started around there.
Where did we start the other time? We started from 1 the other time, didn't we? Oh, yes, we had two nights. I'm sorry. Next time we started B, we started 1 to 25. And then we started from 85 to 100.
87 Well, let's start in the middle then tonight. Let's start from 25 to 50, let's say. How would that be? Who has B25? Raise up your hand. Some woman there? Come right up here, lady. 25, 26. All right. Lady, come up here. They're all over the building.
Now, when the boy comes to give these cards he comes and mixes them up before you, so ... to just give you a card, wherever it's at. And we call them from somewhere. You see, nobody knows where these are going to start. We just start from one place to another. Now where... ? 25, wasn't it? 26, 25, 26. Who has 26? All right, 26 right here. 27, who has prayer card number B27? B like in Boston, 27. All right. 28, who has 28? I don't see the hand. Please. 29, 30, 31. Who has 31?
I wish you would just wait till I call your number, so I can be sure, because... Somebody's deaf or something, you say, "Brother Branham [they write me a card], my number was called, but I was deaf, and nobody told me, and you thought... They said you thought I was gone out"; and "I was crippled, I couldn't even raise my hand, and nobody took me up [see]. I didn't even get prayed for."
You do get prayed for, honey child. You're prayed for every night. Jesus is right now interceding for you at the right hand of the majesty. He just wants you to believe Him.
Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
88 All right, where was I at? 26? 21, 2? Where was I, brother? 31. 32, 32. All right. 33, 34, 34. I don't see it. 34, prayer card number 34. If you get the card... Somebody look around. Maybe somebody's deaf, dumb, or can't get up. 34. I don't want to miss it. Maybe they stepped out. 34, 35, B35. All right. 34. Is 34 come in yet? 34, B34? 35 was in there, 36.
Don't be afraid. If you sin, confess it. And do it ... wrong, it'd be covered by the blood when you get here. You know what happens when you get here if you got unconfessed sin, don't you? Well, don't take the card, then. Pray up first; then take the card.
All right, lets start the prayer line. All right. I don't know how many I got there. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Three is a witness, that'll be good enough. All right.
89 How about you out there that doesn't have a prayer card? Let's see you raise up your hand. You're sick and want God to heal you. Anywhere in the building, I don't care where you're at.
What say? 36, 37, 38, 39, 40. There comes two out of that. 40 to 50. Three. Another one. (Maybe I'm doing wrong. Maybe I ought to just preach and call an altar call.) All right.
Okay. Let's start the prayer line now. If you will, everybody real reverent. Everybody just as reverent as you can be now. Let's bow our heads just a moment. ("Only Believe," brother, if you will.) Been a pretty stiff message tonight. We want the Spirit to come now.
90 Now while they're coming, I'd like to ask this. If Christ can prove Himself to be here, how many of you will believe Him with all your heart? You'll throw every chunk out? Is there anybody that's never been in one of my meetings before? Raise up your hand---never been in one of my meetings. [Brother Branham speaks to the group behind him.] My brethren ... I was just asking them, this group behind me... I get that group back there praying, something's got to take place. Real genuine men of God.
Now you just have faith. Well, I guess the scene would start tonight... I want to say first to you people, each night it's been so many... At least I don't believe we've had a night unless we've had at least eight or ten or fifteen definite cases---just all over the building. Is that right, all you people that's been here? See?
91 Now, to you newcomers, now I do not claim to be a divine healer. I don't believe there is such a person on earth. I believe that Jesus Christ is the healer. And He has already did everything for you that He could do, because when he was smitten back there... He was that rock. Do you believe that? He was the pillar of fire, the I AM. And the only thing we have to do is just get the clogs out of the way. Don't you believe that? Well, then, He's already healed every sick person here. Every person's already healed, every sinner's already saved. But, brother, you better accept it.
And for your healing,
1 Corinthians 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
92 just look here. We had a woman here the other night giving testimony. They brought her up there at the Tabernacle not long ago, and that woman was way out like this. She couldn't even walk, with tumor. Men had to pack her and sit her on the steps. I wasn't praying for the sick that night. And she grabbed me around by the trouser leg, I believe it was, going out, and it turned around with "Thus saith the Lord..." And that woman was here the other night just as flat and normal as she can be.
And all... Oh, my! We don't try... I don't advertise it out and things, and go on like that, because many times... Jesus said... I think what's the matter today, we're making divine healing too much of a glamor, see. It's not a glamor. That's the reason I've told you---and I believe with all my heart---Chicago's seeing this their last time, see. I believe it I believe the rest of the nation is too. I'm leaving, see. So, I believe ... and you remember. Remember what He said. He told me what I've told you.
93 I've never told you nothing in the name of the Lord but what happened just the way it said. I ask you that now, see. Well, then, you believe me.
Christ has already healed you. You must accept it. But now, what if He was standing here with this suit that He gave me, wearing this suit. Now, if you'd come to Him, say, "Lord, will you heal me?" He'd say, "Throw the logs out of the way. I'm trying to press my way through to you. But your unbelief is what's stopping you."
94 Now, here to you newcomers, here's a Bible scene. Jesus, in the fourth chapter of St. John, came to a woman at the well, called a woman of Samaria. All of us are acquainted with that story. And how did He make Hisself known to her as the Messiah? What did He do? He said... The woman said to Him, said... He said to the woman, "Bring me a drink." He was contacting her spirit.
She said, "The water ... the well's deep and you have nothing to draw with." And she said (They got talking about religion then. She wanted to talk about religion), " We worship in this mountain. You say at Jerusalem because..." Said, "We oughtn't to be associating together because you're a Jew and I'm a Samaritan."
And He said, "Woman, go get your husband and come here."
She said, "I don't have any husband."
Said, "You said right. You've had five and the one you're living with now is not your husband."
John 4:7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
John 4:8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
John 4:9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
John 4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
John 4:16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
John 4:17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
John 4:18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
John 4:19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
John 4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
95 Now what did the ministry say about that in that day? Now when I say ministry, I'm not referring to these kind of ministers. Them's brothers, heart and heart with me. I mean the ministry that makes fun of this and says there's nothing to it; not the organizations that back me up. Them's got ... that's got system of God in it. But it's these that deny this thing is what I'm talking about, see---the denial of it. One says there's nothing to it, it's of the devil. That's the same way they did back there.
But that little old prostitute woman, she said, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Now, we know, we're taught ... we know that when the Messiah cometh, He'll tell us these things." Now, how many know that's true? Right.
He said, "I am he that speaks with you."
And she ran into the city and come told them men, said, "Come see a man who's told me the things that I've done. Isn't that the very Messiah?" And the Bible said the whole city believed on Jesus (He never done it again. He just did it that one time.) because the woman, that prostitute woman, told them that Jesus told her that she was living with the wrong man. And the whole city believed that He was the Messiah because that was the sign of the Messiah.
John 4:19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
John 4:25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
John 4:26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
John 4:27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
John 4:28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
John 4:29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
John 4:39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
96 Now if you think that theology is the sign of Messiah, and that's a greater sign than it is... Jesus said, "The works that I do shall you do also," and you say preaching the gospel is a greater works. All right then, you come here and do the lesser works. Here's the platform. Help yourself. Come up here and go down through this prayer line, let the Holy Spirit move out in the audience there over you. Let me see you do them works and then go preach the gospel. Then you do do a greater works.
Jesus could not preach the baptism of the Holy Ghost because it had not yet come. That's a greater works. Certainly it is. The church is to preach the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said it was coming, but the church has it, saying "We got it, and it's for you," see. So that was a greater, that is true.
John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
97 But the same works that He did... "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also."
Now, here's a woman that's a stranger to me. We're strangers to one another. Now, so that the audience can understand, now watch the lady. I do not know you. We are strangers to one another. This is our first time meeting. If that be so, raise up your hand. Now here a man and a woman meets again. I have no more idea who that woman is, or what she's there for, no more than nothing. She's a total stranger.
Now I might stand here and say, like we have a lot of psychology saying, "The Lord tells me somebody's got a back trouble." Sure, a lot of them out there has got back trouble. Got nerve trouble, sure. big bunch of them, see. Who is it? Where's it at? Where did it come from? What caused it? What's going to happen to it? That's the next thing, see. That's the difference.
98 If I would bring this woman up here, say, "The Lord sent me to pray for the sick. Let me lay hands on you, anoint you with oil. Glory to God, you're going to be healed," she's got a right to believe that. That's true, but she could doubt it, of my experience of whether I'm telling her the truth or not. She might doubt that. But when the Holy Spirit comes and speaks through my lips and tell her something she has been, that takes the kink out of it right there, because she knows I don't know her. And we both raised our hands to God we don't know one another. Now, there's the gospel. If that ain't the gospel Christ had, if that wasn't...
"Well, do you say, Brother Branham, you say you're the Messiah?" Now if you think that, it shows you haven't got no spiritual discernment, see. How could I be a Messiah? I'm William Branham, sinner saved by grace. Jesus Christ is the Messiah, but his Spirit is alive in us, the Holy Spirit.
99 And some of you people that wouldn't believe it, this thing that makes these people cry and shout and speak in tongues, that same Spirit...
Paul said if one comes among you, and you all speak with tongues, they'll say you're crazy. But let one be a prophet and reveal the secrets of the heart, then they'll fall down, saying God is with you. See, it's a Pentecostal gift, brethren. It's just something been added to the church. How the Baptists and Methodists fought you brethren on speaking in tongues! They're doing me the same thing on this, so... But stand for the truth. God ... bless, let it go on.
1 Corinthians 14:23 If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?
1 Corinthians 14:25 And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
100 If I don't know you, and the Lord will tell me what you're there for, something you have done, something that you ought to do, or something---some sin that's in your life, or some blessing that's in ... or something another that you know whether it's the truth or not---you'll know whether that's right or not. Will you believe with all your heart then that it would be... ? It'd have to be some kind of a spiritual power because we don't know one another. Would you believe that it was Messiah? Not me, but be his Spirit speaking through me as He promised? Would all the church believe that with one accord? Raise up your hand. Thank you. Now, you believe.
101 The woman stands about ten, twelve feet from me. I'm just looking at her to talk to her, because after preaching, so forth, like the prophet did down there in... I'm not a prophet, but as the prophet did down there... He'd been bawling that Jehoram out, and them, so he just had to play and talk and...
Jesus talked to the woman, but first He had to contact her spirit until He got anointed. That's what I'm waiting for now, for ... to get the log of William Branham out of the way. My intellectuals, my spirit, my knowing, whatever, I get that all out of the way so He can use my eyes, my lips, to glorify Himself before his people. Just to submit, like this... Here---that thing can't speak at all. It's a mute. Has to be something alive here speaking in it to make it speak. It can't speak, itself. Neither could I tell you anything about yourself. It takes something that's got eternal life, something that knows you, to speak about it. That's right.
102 You believe that.
One thing that you're troubled (if people can still hear my voice)... I can see the woman. She's all nervous and tore up. She suffers with a nervous condition. Now that is right, exactly right.
I don't know why, but every time I just say one thing, like I've always said, the people always say (I feel it), " Guessing." I'm not guessing it. You know I have no way of guessing it. Now was that the truth? If that was the truth, what was said, now how many believe? Thank you.
Now if you, like Philip... When He told him where he was, something about him, he said, "Rabbi, you're the son of God, the King of Israel."
Said, "Because you believe that, you'll see greater." Is that right?
John 1:49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
John 1:50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
103 That's the same promise.
... where you are. I don't know ... what I told you was wrong, but whatever it was, it was the right disease that you had. Yeah. I see it now. Yeah. Nervous. Been that way for quite a while. Started with this menopause time. Besides that, you got a female trouble that you're bothered with. That is true. Then another thing, you've got someone on your heart you're praying for. That's right. Not here. Trouble with the eyes. Mother. That's right. Now do you believe? Send her that handkerchief that you're holding while the Holy Spirit's on you, everything'll be all right. God bless you. God bless you, sister.
104 Now do you believe with all your heart? You must have faith. Just trust God. Now are you convinced that Jesus Christ... ?
Now don't ... please don't move around. I know it's getting late. You don't realize, see. What did the angel of the Lord say? "If you get the people to believe you..." And then when you ... I say, "Sit still," and you don't do it, what does it do? It throws it right back in my face.
Satan say, "See, they don't believe you."
Some of you do and some don't, but you hurt the others. Jesus put all of them out of the house one time. See, I'm trying to be both evangelist and a seer, and you can't do that. I'll either go to the woods and be a seer and come in stomping with my message, and go back out; or either lay it aside, and God take it away from me and let me preach the gospel and be an evangelist.
105 How do you do, sister? I don't know you. We're strangers to one another, is that right? We're strangers to one another. So that the people would know that we're strangers, would you just raise up your hand? We're strangers. If the Holy Spirit will reveal to me what you're standing there for, will you believe me to be his prophet? The woman seems to have a good spirit, a believing spirit.
Yes, sir, here it comes. She suffers with a heart trouble. She's got a heart condition. You also have arthritis. You got a nervous condition. You got somebody on your heart you're praying for. If God will tell me who that somebody is or something about them, will you believe me to be his prophet? It's your child, a daughter, and she's not here. She lives way away from here---she's in California. And she's suffering with a nervous breakdown---thus saith the Lord! Now you believe with all your heart? Then go and receive. Just as you have asked and believed, so will it be to you.
106 Come, sir. I do not know you. One time our Lord... I believe the last two or three that's passed by has been women. This is a man. I said what Jesus did to a woman, when He met a woman. Now let me get somewhere in the Scripture where He met a man, so that women and men can see that there's no difference in them. When He met Peter, He met Simon Peter, his name was Simon then. He told him who he was, told him about hisself. Now do you believe that God can tell me about you and about yourself and so forth like that? Would it make you believe?
Just a moment. Something's taking place. That lady, sitting right out there on that left hand side, with a ruptured navel, do you believe that God'll make you well, sister? If you believe it with all your heart you may have what you ask for.
John 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
107 There's two men keep standing there. Somebody's touching the High Priest. Your finger up to your nose there, that man, got heart dropsy, skin cancer. Jesus heals you, brother. Your faith makes you whole. What did he touch? He's older than this man here. I could see there was a difference in them.
Now if God will tell me what your trouble is, do you believe me to be his servant? One thing, you got trouble in your side. It's kind of a rupture, hernia, in the side. That's right. Another thing, you've got a nervous condition which gives you a stomach trouble. Right. Now do you believe, all you men? You seem to be a good man.
108 Let's take a little time with this man. Please be reverent and quiet. Got something on his heart.
You're wanting something else for God to say. That's right, because I can tell that longing. Oh, it's a woman, your wife. She's had an operation, got a swelling from it. That's right. Got a daughter, too. That daughter suffered once with T.B. She was healed by divine healing. Now she's got a nervous stomach. That is true. They're here tonight. I feel them there in the meeting. They're going to be well. Do you believe that God can tell me who you are? Would it help you? If He could tell Simon Peter who he was... You're from Arkansas. Your name is Mr. Blackwell. Go home, Jesus Christ heals you. Your desires are met, brother.
109 How do you do, lady? You are Ethiopian; I'm Anglo-Saxon. That's two different races of people. First time meeting in life, I suppose. If the Holy Spirit will reveal to me what's your trouble, will you believe me to be his ... a prophet of the Holy Spirit? Just have faith; don't doubt. Believe. You have a great desire in your heart. You're really seeking for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. That's right. It's a great thing to seek for.
If God knows the name of a man, He knows the name of a woman, too. Don't you believe so? If I would tell you who you are, by the Holy Spirit, would you believe then that you're going to receive the Holy Spirit and God's going to give you your... ? Mrs. Fitzpatrick, you go home, Jesus Christ's going to give you the baptism.
The Bible said in the last days... Jesus said that the Spirit would come in the last days to do this, would be the same Spirit was on that human flesh that stood with his back to the tent in Abraham's day. Is that right?
110 Here's the next person, standing behind me. It's a woman. Can you hear me, lady, you behind me? All right. Is she nodding her head? Here, I'll look at you. If the Lord will reveal to me what's your trouble (looking this way), then you know it's the same angel of God, the same power, that Jesus said would be here in the last days. Will all of you believe it? You got female trouble, lady's trouble. Lady's trouble, female trouble. Go home, Jesus Christ makes you well. Believe with all your heart.
What if I told you He'd heal you, sitting there in the chair with that heart trouble, would you believe? Then start going on by like this, saying, "Thank you, Lord." Believe with all your heart.
111 Now you're ready for an operation for that tumor. But do you believe that God's going to make you well? All right. Just go on by, and say "Thank you, Lord Jesus."
Now wouldn't you like to go eat your supper tonight, that old stomach trouble gone? You would? Go ahead and eat, if you believe it with all your heart.
Would you like to go to Calvary with me for a blood transfusion, get rid of the diabetes? Go do it. That lady sitting right back there with diabetes can do the same thing if you just believe it, sister. Go believe with all your heart.
When I said stomach trouble awhile ago that was yours, too, so you just go on, eat your supper and be made well. All right.
Great big strong-looking woman like that, yet afflicted with nerves. That's the hardest thing in the world. You're free now. Jesus Christ makes you well. Go believe with all your heart.
112 Little lady, do you believe that asthmatic condition is going to leave you, you're going to be all right and go home and be well? Just keep walking, saying, "Thank You, Lord."
How many believes with all your heart? Every one of you believing with all your heart? What about you? You believe with all your heart? Just keep walking. Just keep praising God, believing with all your heart. What about you? Do you believe with all your heart Christ will make you well? Just keep walking, saying, "Thank You, Lord." Believe it with all your heart.
Do you believe that you're all right, too? You ain't going to die with no heart attack. You go on, believe it. You just believe with all your heart and you'll be all right. I guess you wanted me to tell you that, so it's all over now. Go believing with all your heart.
113 How many believe with all your heart? How many's dug out all the unbelief now and throwed all the ecclesiastical chunks out and you're ready to receive Christ? Lay your hands over on one another. This is the hour of your decision. Sit still, everyone [A woman speaks in tongues and a man interprets.] Amen.
See what I got through telling you? This ministry is a type of the Elijah that was taken up, and the Elisha had a double portion. A double portion. Jesus Himself, who sent back the Spirit, said, "These signs shall follow them that believe."
I doubt whether that man and woman know each other or not. It's very doubtful. That woman that spoke in tongues, do you know the man that interpreted? If you do not, raise up your hand, if you do not know the man. The one that interpreted, if you don't know the woman, raise up your hand (way back in the back). No, sir, neither one of them know one another.
114 And here they was, spoke just exactly right around with the message, and bring it right around for a confirmation, where Jesus is here, knows the secrets of the heart; speak down here in another gift like that, a local gift---through a prophetic gift, through a local gift, through his Word. Here He is. Why, my, oh, my! Glory!
Lay hands on one another. That's all you have to do. Touch if you're anointed, and the Holy Ghost will give it to you. O God, in the name of Jesus Christ, saturate this building with your Spirit. Throw every chunk out. Throw every old log out, and may the God of heaven fill with the Holy Ghost and set this church afire. Get in the Spirit of this meeting, and every one of you be healed in the name of Jesus Christ.
Hallelujah! Do you believe it? Are you in the spirit of receiving it? This is it. Get everything out of the way. If you believe it with all your heart, rise up on your feet and accept it in the name of Jesus. There you are, raise your hands. Glory, glory. Amen.